3/31/2008

Thursday officials announced the white river could reach 100-year flood levels as it moves toward the Mississippi, further devastating wheat fields. The last flood of similar size was in 1982, which resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. State officials have to wait for the water to recede, before they can assess the damage. In some places the water is still standing only a few feet lower than where it stood after the 1982 flood. The heavy rains and up to six feet of flood water has left many farmers shaken by the loss of crops. Thirty-five counties, or nearly half the state, have been declared federal disaster areas because of the flooding. Last year Arkansas produced about 29 million bushels of wheat.